Category: Determination

For Christ or Against Him?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Dedication, Determination, Faith, For His Glory, Rewards, TrustLeave a comment

Tuesday, 2021-02-06

Bible Reference: Matthew 12:30
Translation: The Voice (VOICE)

Bible Text: 30 ……he who is not with Me is against Me, and he who is not doing the Father’s work of gathering up the flock may as well be scattering the flock.

OBSERVATION: This verse is taken from a section of the New Testament where Jesus was clarifying for the Pharisees that His miracles were not of the devil. However, Jesus challenged them to consider their actions and attitudes as something that might be tearing down the Kingdom, not building it up. Let’s apply this valuation to our lives today, are we doing something to build up the Kingdom, or are we causing deterioration in Kingdom strength in our families and in our churches? Unfortunately, it is very evident to our Lord, and to our lost community.

APPLICATION: A piece of advice given by my wife and I several times over the years is ‘be careful, blood is thicker than water’. This applied to situations where the individual was talking to a family member about one of their relatives. That family member might be upset with their relative, and they may gossip about it to another relative, but they refuse to hear an outsider say something derogatory about them! Jesus witnessed the spiritual leaders of the day (the Pharisees) looking for every opportunity to entrap Him and/or imprison Him. He heard them speak evil about the good that He was doing in their community, yet they walked around pretending to be more holy than anyone else. Aren’t you glad that with our advanced education system, and our many computers and smart people, that we have learned to overcome this weakness in the church today? Ha, hopefully I received no ‘Amens’ to that statement, because it was really meant to highlight that even after all these years; after having the Word of God to show us the errors of our past generations, yet churches today are torn apart by the same wickedness. Imagine with me for a moment what might happen if Jesus walked down the isles of our churches next weekend and pointed out the folk who are promoting Kingdom growth, and then asked those to leave who were destroying His work here on earth. How’s your confidence level on whether you will be allowed to stay and continue your work for the Kingdom? Will the church grow after such a separation, or will it dwindle in numbers? Friends, please allow me to remind each one reading this blog, that when God is working inside of us and using us for His purpose and the good of His kingdom, then no matter what position we hold in church, or in our community, we would work together with other believers to promote the awesome love, power, wisdom and saving grace of the one true God – our Lord, and our Savior. When you are for Him, you will pray for those who open their mouths to speak for Him; you will lift up and encourage those who sing His praises; you will renounce evil and promote the goodness of God. There will be no need to look around to see who’s nearby when you speak of, or to your neighbor, because your words will be intended to lift up, and not tear down. Friends, there are many in my community who need the Lord, and I bet your community is very similar. They may be looking at the proof of God’s work in our midst, before they listen to our teaching or our preaching, or even watch for the sincerity of our walk, before they show interest in knowing Christ personally. They are probably tired of hearing the talk, but not seeing the walk of a child of the Kingdom. I believe that our takeaway today is that if we are for God, then let’s be extremely dedicated to living like He taught us, and like He exampled for us while here on earth. Jesus made it clear that we live out our beliefs, because when we don’t, it becomes clear that we are against Him. Talk with God today and allow Him to open your spiritual eyes to discern whose side you’re really on, both in words and in your actions.

PRAYER: Lord, may others see so much of Jesus in my speech and in my actions, that there will be no reason to question who guides me, who teaches me, who directs my path, and the direction in which I am headed for eternity! May all those meditating on this blog today be of the same mind and spirit, and may our dedication and commitment to you be contagious for all to see and subsequently follow. May we say like Paul did, if you want to see Jesus, follow me! AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog at https://NuggetsFromGodsWord.org that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading or listening to this devotional, please go to the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and see all of my posts, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Time to Meet With The Lord

On By Ed AlgreenIn Dedication, Determination, Determined, Excuses, Priorities, PriorityLeave a comment

Wednesday, 2019-04-03

Bible Reference: Exodus 34:23-24
Translation: New International Version (NIV)

Bible Text: 23 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord, the God of Israel. 24 I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God.

OBSERVATION: This is an interesting meeting Moses had with the Lord. After the last similar meeting, Moses returned to his people, and became so angry at finding them worshiping idols again, that he threw down the stones upon which God had written the Ten Commandments. God had Moses write the Commandments on the stones this time, but He also ordered Moses to gather the men together and meet with Him (God) three times per year while they attended festivals. It sounds like God wants time together with His leaders!

APPLICATION: It is extremely challenging to get men out to church on the weekends, and especially at midweek prayer and Bible study. However, some time ago we were able to take a group from our church to a Bible based, Spirit led, prayer conference for approximately two full days. These days were filled with the Word of God, as Scripture was shared by each participant; songs prompted by the Holy Spirit; and prayer from the heart of each attendee, as prompted by God. No agenda, just waiting before the Lord and obeying the leading of His Holy Spirit. What might seem amazing to many, is that the crowd doubled in size the second year! What a sweet, Holy Ghost filled, time with the Lord! We returned to our church fired up, renewed and ready for the Lord to continue His work in and through us. Being a part of our two days of prayer, helped me to identify with what God was telling Moses to do. I wonder, if your pastor organized a get-away at your church: How many men would sacrifice vacation time to go and spend devoted time with the Lord? How many wives or girlfriends would encourage husbands or boyfriends to please go and participate? How many employers would welcome the time off for employees that they suspect would return and pray for the success of their business? Friends, I wonder how many gods we place before the God of this universe when we can’t find time for church services over the weekend or a discipleship class during the week? We tend to blame it on ‘time’, but perhaps the word ‘priority’ might better explain your shortcoming! Imagine: Lord, please forgive me that I made it a priority to take my family to the beach today/took my wife shopping today/went to have lunch with old friends today; played golf today…. but didn’t make it a priority to take my family to church. Can we, in all good conscience, add to the end of those excuses: ‘but bless me anyway and guide the thoughts of my troubled son/daughter this week’??? Friends, I believe that we are either all for God, or we’re not. I know that we can’t be at every single church gathering, but sincerely before God, we must be ready to answer His question on the priorities of our lives. Please consider taking time away to draw close to God, so that He might draw close to you. I don’t believe that there could be one thing more strengthening for your relationship with God, which will also enrich your relationship with your family and coworkers.

PRAYER: Lord God, please forgive us for the many excuses we come up with regarding our priorities. Too often You are placed at the bottom of the list, or as a last resort. This must be turned around if we ever expect to draw close to You, or encourage/convince an unbeliever. Please give us strength, boldness and self-determination to serve You wholeheartedly and without excuses. You gave up Your life for us, how much more can we do in return? Give Your children boldness and commitment today I sincerely beg of You dear God, AMEN!

Your Heart Determines The Course of Your Life

On By Ed AlgreenIn Determination, Determined, Faith, Heart, Priority, Rewards, TrustLeave a comment

Tuesday, 2019-04-02

Bible Reference: Proverbs 4:20-22
Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

Bible Text: ^20 My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. 21 Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, 22 for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body. 23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

OBSERVATION: From deep within our heart, words spew from our mouths, and actions that may either make us proud, or ashamed, when we stand before the Master of this universe. God knew this would happen, so in His Word He warned us to be careful of what we allow into our lives. With so much emphasis on the things of this world bombarding us every day, we must stop and analyze how we are doing in this critical aspect of our lives.

APPLICATION: There are sayings that we hear from time to time that are aligned with this Scripture today: ‘from the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks’; ‘garbage in, garbage out’; ‘actions speak louder than words’; etc. Each of these sayings indicate that you could expect no better from a person than what is bottled up inside of their heart. So from where is the heart ‘fed’? Allow me to suggest that hanging around a bar will feed your mind, soul and heart with things that the frequent attenders say; the way they act; and the priorities they display while in your presence. Spending 8+ hours per day around your coworkers, will influence your life with certain attributes of theirs, and you will find yourself with some of their words and/or behavior. Spending many hours around God’s people at church or church events, will do the same as already shared. Studying God’s Word and allowing it to saturate your mind and your heart, will draw you closer to God, and will energize you to follow His instructions and share His goodness that becomes more and more obvious as you learn more about Him. Friends, it is very obvious that we are influenced by those we spend time with, or have a desire to imitate. So I believe the key takeaway in this devotional today, is that we evaluate what our priorities are. That we stop making excuses and strive for the image of God to be displayed through us. Never fool yourself into telling someone the lie that you just didn’t have time for something that really should take a precedence in your day. Try replacing the words ‘I didn’t have time’ with ‘it just wasn’t a priority for me’. Consider time with the Lord – imagine telling God at the end of the day that you are very sorry, but spending time in His Word, and in prayer to Him, just was not a priority. Friends, we choose what we will do. You may have chosen to sleep in, or go to the gym, or have breakfast with the guys during the time that you had set aside for a devotional time with God. However, if it was really a priority in your life, imagine how you would have moved things around to accommodate. So let me encourage you today to prioritize what goes into your heart. Fill it with the goodness of the Lord, and the awesome promise of His return. Can you imagine what will come out of you in words and actions? Can you imagine how God will be glorified? It’s all up to you my friend!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, may our hearts be so filled with You and Your goodness, that our whole outlook on life will change, and others who cross our paths will be infected by Your love being extended through us. Oh that You might be lifted up because of all that You will accomplish through us today, for this is my humble prayer and sincere plea, oh Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. AMEN!

For, or Against?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Dedication, Determination, Faith, Rewards, TrustLeave a comment

Tuesday, 2019-02-05

Bible Reference: Matthew 12:30
Translation: The Voice (VOICE)

Bible Text: 30 ……he who is not with Me is against Me, and he who is not doing the Father’s work of gathering up the flock may as well be scattering the flock.

OBSERVATION: This verse is taken from a section of the New Testament where Jesus was clarifying for the Pharisees that His miracles were not of the devil. However, Jesus challenged them to consider their actions and attitudes as something that is tearing down the Kingdom, not building up. That same challenge is something we should review today, in the event we might be guilty of the same thing.

APPLICATION: A piece of advice given by my wife and I several times over the years is ‘be careful, blood is thicker than water’. This applied to situations where the individual was talking to a family member about one of their relatives. That family member might be upset with their relative, but they refuse to hear an outsider say something derogatory about them. However, they would gladly accept positive reinforcement, or help that will mend the fences between them. Jesus witnessed the spiritual leaders of the day looking for every opportunity to entrap Him and/or imprison Him. He heard them speak evil about the good that He was doing in their community, yet they walked around pretending to be more holy than anyone else. Aren’t you glad that with our advanced education system, and our many computers and smart people, that we have learned to overcome this weakness in the church today? Hopefully I received no ‘Amen’ responses after that last statement, because it was really meant to highlight that even after all these years; after having the Word of God to show us the errors of our past generations, yet churches today are torn apart by the same wickedness. In fact, I believe that we would all be very surprised to see what would happen if Jesus walked down the isles of our churches next weekend and pointed out the folk who should leave, because they have a godly spirit about them, and they are 100% honest in their words and in their actions. Of course the folk remaining would be the ones in much need of ministry as the Word of God is yet again explained to them in meticulous form. Friends, please allow me to remind each one reading this blog, that when God is working inside of us and using us for His purpose and the good of His kingdom, then no matter what position we hold in church, or in our community, we would promote the awesome love, power, wisdom and saving grace of the one true God – our Lord, and our Savior. When you are for Him, you will pray for those who open their mouths to speak for Him; you will lift up and encourage those who sing His praises; you will renounce evil and promote the goodness of God. There will be no need to look around to see who’s nearby when you speak to your neighbor, because your words will be intended to lift up, and not tear down. Friends, there are many in my community who need the Lord, and I bet your community is very similar. They may be looking at the proof of God’s work in our midst, before they make a decision to join a movement that claims they know Jesus, but show no living proof of His power or teaching. I believe that our takeaway today is that if we are for God, then let’s be extremely dedicated to living like He taught us, and like He exampled for us while here on earth. Jesus made it clear that we live out our beliefs, because when we don’t, it becomes clear that we are against Him. Talk with God today and allow Him to open your spiritual eyes to discern whose side you’re really on, both in words and in your actions.

PRAYER: Lord, may others see so much of Jesus in my speech and in my actions, that there will be no reason to question who guides me, who teaches me, who directs my path, and the direct in which I am headed for eternity! May all those meditating on this blog today be of the same mind and spirit, and may our dedication and commitment to you be contagious for all to see and subsequently follow. May we say like Paul did, if you want to see Jesus, follow me! AMEN!

Your Decisions Will Cost You

On By Ed AlgreenIn Decisions, Determination, Determined, directionLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE  FROM:   Acts 18:5-6 (NLT)

TEXT:   5 …Paul spent all his time preaching the word. He testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. 6 But when they opposed and insulted him, Paul shook the dust from his clothes and said, “Your blood is upon your own heads—I am innocent. From now on I will go preach to the Gentiles.”

OBSERVATION:   Paul was a very patient evangelist of the Gospel of Christ. He had a passion for reaching the lost, and also those who allowed other teachings to hide them from the truth of the Gospel. However, he was a very smart man, and one who was closely in tuned with the work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore Paul realized that he could not force anyone to believe on the name of Jesus, so he allowed God to direct him when to move on, so that the people would feel the absence of the Savior. This is still very prevalent today, so let’s dig deeper into this.

APPLICATION:   One of the most joyous occasions in a church is to help welcome a new pastor to serve at your church. For those who dig in and work along with the pastor to accomplish the work of the Lord in His local church, one of the saddest events in a church is when a pastor feels compelled to leave your church. Way too often, it’s for reasons very similar to the scenario faced by Paul, for the people are steeped in tradition and refuses to accept the love and preaching from men who, they feel, don’t fit the mold of their personal ideals for a ‘perfect’ pastor. Unfortunately, this could mean that in spite of their gentle heart for the Lord and His work here on earth, yet the man presenting the gospel is a mortal man, and this is often reflected through his casual talk; the friends (church members) that he hangs out with during his downtime; the jokes that he uses to help demonstrate or illustrate the story being preached that day; and the casual dress throughout the week is even being brought into the pulpit. However, he has a passion for the lost; he is a student of the Word of God and faithfully communicates with God about His perfect will for your church. Friends, these same pastors leave our church because of silly things that hurt them and their family, and they go on to another church where God is at liberty to work through them to reach the people of that community. Often these pastors brush the dust off their feet when they leave your church – the dirt of distrust; lack of communication; lack of acceptance and cooperation; excessive gossip about them and/or their family; refusal to allow God in and use you as part of the ministry at your church. Oh that we might remember that we are all equal at the foot of the cross. While here on earth we should be preparing ourselves, with the help of God, to see our old selves changed into the likeness of God as we prepare for that day when we will see Him face to face. Our time here should now be spent getting rid of old habits and the tricks we played on people that hurt them so badly. Our time should be spent in developing an attitude like that of Christ, and getting along with all men and women, even those that the world might look at and wonder why do we bother. Friends, I wonder if the blood of others may not sometimes be upon our shoulders it we had a part in steering them away from the gospel of Jesus Christ.

PRAYER:   Lord Jesus, it is so challenging to live here on earth and imitate You in every way. Often we find many excuses and reasons why we can’t, but Lord I humbly plead that You would melt our hardened hearts so that we might see our old selves with its flawed character, step aside as we assume the life that You have given to us and demonstrated for us. People need the Lord. They need to see You. They need to hear from You. If that’s not happening through us, then please teach us to step aside and not be a stumbling block to those You are trying to reach. I pray that You might be able to use me Lord, but I would rather Your will, not mine. To God be the glory, for all that You will accomplish! AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’.  If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Sebring, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

 

Get Away With The Lord

On By Ed AlgreenIn Dedication, Determination, Determined, Excuses, Priorities, PriorityLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Tuesday, 2017-04-04
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Exodus 34:23-24 (NIV)

Text:

 23 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord, the God of Israel. 24 I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God.
OBSERVATION:
This is an interesting meeting Moses had with the Lord. After the last similar meeting, Moses returned to his people, and became so angry at finding them worshiping idols again, that he threw down the stones upon which God had written the Ten Commandments. God had Moses write the Commandments on the stones this time, but He also ordered Moses to gather the men together and meet with Him (God) three times per year while they attended festivals. It sounds like God wants time together with His leaders!
APPLICATION:
At a time when it is extremely challenging to get men out to church on the weekends, and especially at midweek prayer and Bible study, we were able to take a group from our church to a Bible based, Spirit led, prayer conference for approximately two full days. These days were filled with the Word of God, as Scripture was given to each participant; songs prompted by the Holy Spirit; and prayer from the heart of each attendee, as prompted by God. No agenda, just waiting before the Lord and obeying the leading of His Holy Spirit. What might seem amazing to many, is that the crowd doubled in size the second year! What a sweet, Holy Ghost filled, time with the Lord! We returned to our church fired up, renewed and ready for the Lord to continue His work in and through us. This helped me to identify with what God was telling Moses to do. I wonder, if your pastor organized a get-away at your church: How many men would sacrifice vacation time to go and spend devoted time with the Lord? How many wives or girlfriends would encourage husbands or boyfriends to please go and participate? How many employers would welcome the time off for employees that they suspect would return and pray for the success of their business? Friends, I wonder how many gods we place before the God of this universe when we can’t find time for church services over the weekend or a discipleship class during the week? We tend to blame it on ‘time’, but may I recommend that you use the word ‘priority’ when explaining why you couldn’t participate/attend? Especially use that word when praying to God at the end of each day. Imagine: Lord Jesus, please forgive me for not making it a priority to hear from You through reading Your Word today? Lord, please forgive me that I made it a priority to take my family to the beach today/took my wife shopping today/went to have lunch with old friends today; played golf today…. but didn’t make it a priority to take my family to church. Can we, in all good conscience, add to the end of those excuses: ‘but bless me anyway and guide the thoughts of my troubled son this week’??? Friends, I believe that we are either all for God, or we’re not. I know that we can’t be at every single church gathering, but sincerely before God, we must be ready to answer His question on the priority of our day/time. Please consider taking time away to draw close to God, so that He might draw close to you. I don’t believe that there could be one thing more strengthening for your relationship with God, which will also enrich your relationship with your family and coworkers.
PRAYER:
Lord God, please forgive us for the many excuses we come up with regarding our priorities. Too often You are placed at the bottom of the list, or as a last resort. This must be turned around if we ever expect to draw close to You, or encourage/convince an unbeliever. Please give us strength, boldness and self-determination to serve You wholeheartedly and without excuses. You gave up Your life for us, how much more can we do in return? Give Your children boldness and commitment today I sincerely plead dear God, AMEN!
FOOTNOTE:
There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’.  If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

A Person Of Integrity – Godly Characteristics

On By Ed AlgreenIn Character, Determination, Example of Christ, IntegrityLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE – 1 Who can live in your tent, Lord? Who can dwell on your holy mountain? 2 The person who lives free of blame, does what is right, and speaks the truth sincerely; 3 who does no damage with their talk, does no harm to a friend, doesn’t insult a neighbor; 4 someone who despises those who act wickedly, but who honors those who honor the Lord; someone who keeps their promise even when it hurts; 5 someone who doesn’t lend money with interest, who won’t accept a bribe against any innocent person. Whoever does these things will never stumble. – Psalm 15 – Common English Bible (CEB)

THOUGHTS: I believe that most of us strive to do things right, or pleasing to those that we hang around! However, in the Christian’s walk in life, we have a greater power that we aim to please, for as children of God, knowing that God went to the extreme of giving up His only Son for us, we look to His Word for guidance on how we believe He would like for us to live. With that knowledge, how then should we live, so that our integrity would not be in question? The Psalmist actually rehearsed this for us, or shall I say that God gave us this guidance through His servant David! I am not questioning your ability to read these characteristics for yourself friend, but I am merely rehearsing them to myself, and sharing that process with you! Here’s what I see in this Psalm:

  • We must have a pattern of life that is blameless – This word means genuine, free from moral or ethical spots, corruption, and inconsistencies, though not morally perfect – since this is humanly impossible. In other words, such a person is a man or woman of upright integrity (Job 1:1).
  • Our actions must reflect righteousness – We must live in harmony with God’s will and standards.
  • We must speak the truth sincerely – rather than being double-tongued, saying what is true some of the time and lying at other times. Concocting stories against others so that we might look better. (2c).
  • We must not slander other people – by saying things that are untrue and destructive about them. I think of gossiping, and backbiting. (3a).
  • We must not do evil to our neighbor – (i.e., those that we come into contact with, (3b); Prov. 14:17–24).
  • We must not initiate or circulate information that would discredit others (3c). This shows intent to harm others.
  • We must not approve of those who turn away from the Lord – we must not approve of sin, or disregard for the things of God or His principles. (4a).
  • We must honor those who choose to follow God’s ways (4b) – encourage them, pray for them and help them succeed in the ways of the Lord.
  • We must keep his promises even when it costs us to do so (4c) – of course this is not financial cost, but it may be at the cost of losing certain friends, or perhaps losing a promotion at work, or something similar.
  • We should not charge interest on money that we loan to our Christian brothers – this could very easily lead to us taking advantage of their weakness (5a; Exod. 22:25; Lev. 25:36).
  • We must not accept a bribe that might lead to hurting an innocent person – for although this may be to our own advantage, it may bring hardship on others (5b; Deut. 27:25).

Friends, David concluded that this type person will experience stability in his life as well as enjoy intimate fellowship with God. A believer needs to make sure he is walking in the will of God consistently to enjoy fellowship with God and stability in his life. Are you prepared to do this friend?

PRAYER: Lord, You are so patient with us. In spite of our weaknesses in caving in to life’s demands, You have shown Your precious and everlasting love for us. You have given us a lot to think about in this Psalm today Lord, for it has hit on many of our weaknesses. However, You have also reminded us throughout Your Word how gracious You are to guide us and lead us into Your righteousness, when we have a desire to do so. Please touch Your children today so that we might find a new determination in this Psalm to go on and be even more committed in our walk, our righteousness and Your will for our lives. We need so badly to be more like You in every way, so that those that we come into contact with may be transformed into Your likeness. May this be a day that those who have still not made a choice to follow You will gain strength from You, and see every reason in our walk and talk to follow through in accepting You as their Lord and Savior. I ask these things in the strong name of Jesus, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!